This is the moment Chinese cops shoot a runaway yak that escaped from its owner and injured four people.

The incident took place in the county of Ziyuan in the south-eastern Chinese province of Guangxi at around 2pm on 16th September.

According to the news suite Baidu, the yak escaped from its owner and injured four people before the police decided to shoot it to prevent further harm to residents or damage to property.

The yak owner, Mr Shi, said he had just bought the animal and was taking it back to Ziyuan County when it broke free of the cart at around 1pm.

He said he was injured when trying to capture the yak as it fled to a nearby mountain.

At around 2pm, someone found the yak near a mountain shack and it promptly scarpered down the mountainside and back into town where it rammed a cop and broke through the police lines.

Fearing that the animal could cause further damage and injury, the police decided to shoot the yak.

With the help of Mr Shi and other local residents, the police managed to surround the yak in the street and officers shot it three times in total, according to reports.

Despite buying the yak earlier that day, Mr Shi said he was relieved the incident was concluded without further injury.